1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic component, and in particular to a multi-layer ceramic capacitor and a production method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
A capacitor is an electronic component that uses electrodes joined with a dielectric positioned in-between to perform various functions such as blocking DC signals, bypassing, and frequency resonance, etc., and a multi-layer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) is an electronic component formed by stacking several layers of capacitors. With the gradual expansion of the portable terminal market due to the personalization of electronic products, the multi-layer ceramic capacitor is becoming smaller and lighter. In prior art, the multi-layer ceramic capacitor is produced by a process of printing electrode paste on a green sheet, sintering at high temperatures after stacking in multiple layers and cutting, and then coating and sintering the external electrode for plating.
In general, methods of improving the electric capacity of a multi-layer ceramic capacitor include increasing the areas of the internal electrodes, using dielectrics with a high dielectric constant, reducing the thickness of the dielectrics, and increasing the number of layers. FIG. 1 illustrates internal electrodes 110 and dielectrics 120 as used in prior art. Here, the internal electrodes 110 and the dielectrics 120 are formed as planar structures. Therefore, to improve the electric capacity of a multi-layer ceramic capacitor having a predetermined thickness, the thickness of the dielectrics must be reduced, and the number of layers increased. However, there is a certain limit to how much the thickness of the dielectrics may be reduced. Thus, as electronic devices continue to be produced in smaller and smaller sizes, there is a growing need for improving electric capacity even with thin thicknesses by maximizing the areas of the internal electrodes.